Being True
by Tony's Girl
Summary: Calleigh relizes she needs to be true to herself and those she cares for. The story is much better than the summary!
1. The breakup

It had been several months since the accident with Eric's therapist and Calleigh was still unsure of what to do. She knew Eric had feelings for her all along, but it made a difference in seeing it on paper. Calleigh was painful aware that she was still with Jake. She'd been trying to find a way to break things off with Jake but didn't want to hurt him. Calleigh didn't like breaking up with people when it would hurt them.

She laughed a little at her thought. A detective who specialized in weapons afraid of hurting a man's feelings? She was Calleigh Duquesne after all. But, she still loved Jake, she just wasn't in love with him anymore. Calleigh also knew the longer she stayed with him, the harder the breakup would be. She wasn't being fair to Jake or herself or even Eric. It wasn't fair to hold Jake back from finding the woman he truly belonged with. It was fair to Eric or herself to deny their true feelings all because she didn't want to be mean.

Calleigh decided that evening she would talk to Jake. She was fresh into the new year and decided that her resolution would be to be true to herself and to those she cared about.

When she got home, she got herself settled and dialed the familiar number. Jake answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" His voice was groggy. Calleigh could tell that she had awaken him. That was another thing that was working against them; their schedules. He went into work at 4:00am and got home at 1:00pm then went to bed around the time she was getting home from work and slept until she was well in the bed.

"Hey," Calleigh said.

"Hey you, what's up?" Jake replied back.

"Well I just got home from work and I knew you didn't have to work tomorrow and I was hoping to go out to dinner. I," Calleigh began to stammer, "I, um, I have some things we need to talk about."

"Mhmm, well dinner sounds good but 'we need to talk' are four words a guy never likes to hear," Jake said. "How about Seracy at eight o'clock?"

"Okay, I'll um, see ya there."

"I love you."

Calleigh quickly disconnected the phone, hoping to make it look like she hadn't heard the last part.

Two hours later, Calleigh walked into he restaurant and seen him sitting at his usual place at the bar. The was yet another thing; Jake drank not just a beer here and a margarita there, he really drank.

"Hey," he said, kissing her cheek as she sat on the stool next to him. They ordered dinner and talked about unimportant stuff neither one really wanting to face the inevitable, ending the night would redoubtably hold.

"Calleigh, we didn't come here to talk about work or weather. We both know there is something else we need to discuss."

Calleigh looked down at her Cosmo and swirled it around. "Jake I-"

"I know Calleigh," Jake said, cutting her off. "I know. Me too."

"Really?" she looked up at him, shocked. "Yeah, I mean, I love you Cal, its just..."

"...Different," Calleigh said, finishing his sentence. "Yeah, I know I love you too but things have changed."

"People change. Don't get me wrong I don't regret any of this. I wouldn't give up the memories for anything."

"Me either Jake," Calleigh said. "But as they say 'all great things must come to an end.' They finished eating and left the dinner as friends instead of the lovers they had come as. They were both happy with how it had ended and were confident that they could remain friends in the future.

**A/N I want to thank xXThePostXx for beta-ing this chapter for me thanks to her this chapter is ten times better than it would have been. Let me know what you think!**

**Ithaca E.K.**


	2. The beach

**DISCLAIMER: I guess I will just have to say it. No I don't own them! There happy now? I finally faced it : ( **

A week later Calleigh Duquesne sat in the ballistics lab finishing up a report when Eric Delko walked in. He walked in silently but still she knew he was there. There was something about his presence. She always felt it the moment it was there.

"Hey Eric whats up." she said in her usual southern drawl.

"Hey Cal I just came down to get the ballistic report on the Talquez case," he said, standing behind her with his head peaking over her shoulder watching her sign the report. She turned to face him and found herself inches away from him. She raised the file in her hand and held it to his chest.

"Well than here you go," she said almost in a whisper. He put his hand on the one holding the report to his chest. They stood there for a minute starring into each others eyes neither one wanting to move from the spot they were in. Her mind screamed 'KISS HIM!' and his mind was thinking the same thoughts until they got cut of by his phone ringing. Clearing his throat he answered it

"Delko?... Yeah H I'll be right there." He hung up then looked at Calleigh. "That was Horatio he needs me up in DNA. I'll uh see you later. Thanks for the report," he said, before turning and walking towards the door but she stopped him just before he opened the door.

"Eric?"

"Yeah Cal?"

"You uh... you wanna get something to eat after work?" His eyes lit up brighter then she had ever seen.

"Yeah that would be great. I know just the place. I'll pick you up from your place at say...8?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright all uh... I'll see you then."

"Yeah," she said as he turned to leave. Calleigh turned to the microscope.

"Oh and Calleigh?"

"Yeah?" She said looking back up.

"Wear your bathing suit." She sent him a confused look and he just winked and left.

The rest of the work day was harder to get through than any other. They both just wanted to get out of the lab and go home and get ready for their dinner. At 5:30 they closed their case and got their wish.

Calleigh went home and took a shower and then went into her closet to pick out what bathing suit she should wear. Living in Miami she had tons . She settled on a green bikini with small pink polka dots with a skirt wrap that was pink with green palm trees on it.

She parted her hair on the side and pulled it into a sleek pony tail at the base of her head. She pulled the long tail over her left shoulder and looked at her reflection in the mirror before going to her closet and pulling out a pink beach bag, putting in a set of clothes just in case they went somewhere after wherever he was taking her first.

Just before eight, there was a knock on her door.

"Hey! Right on time," Calleigh said, opening the door to reveal a grinning Eric.

His jaw almost hit the step when he saw her bikini. "Wow Cal you look... WOW."

"You don't look to bad yourself Eric," she said, looking at him. He was in dark blue swim trunks that had red flowers on it and a red t-shirt that seemed to hug in just the right places.

"Well uh you ready to go?" Eric asked finally regaining composure.

"Yeah definitely," Calleigh said, grabbing her beach bag off the table by the door along with her house keys and cell phone. Once in the car she asked Eric the question he knew was coming.

"So where are we going?"

"I can't tell you its a surprise." She laughed at his answer but got the one she wanted 10 minutes later when they pulled into a small gravel parking lot set in front of a line of trees she was pretty sure there was sand behind.

He grabbed the picnic basket off the back seat of his car. She was standing by the front of the car looking around. The area was quite. Something about it seemed soothing. He walked up behind her and grabbed her hand with his pulling her through a small gap in the trees.

"Wow Eric this place is beautiful," Calleigh said, taking in her new surroundings. They were standing on a small stretch of the ocean that seemed like it had been so far undiscovered. As where most beaches the sand was disturbed by footprints but here it was almost untouched. You could see the city lights on the horizon and the moon cast a beautiful glow on the sand and water.

"Marisol and I used to come out here. Its quiet. Pretty unknown. She loved it," Eric said seemingly quiet, remembering the time when he and Marisol got in a fight and he came out here to clear his head and she was already there. He didn't come out here as often now. It was lonely without someone to share in its beauty. Then he smiled at the thought that he wasn't alone anymore. Calleigh was there and she was a beauty all by herself.

"Come on this way." He grabbed her hand and pulled her on down the beach. Once they had found a spot Eric spread a blanket out and the sat down. He pulled out two containers that appeared to be stainless steel. She gave him a curious look and he smiled.

"Thermal containers. My mother gave them to me. Said that being a CSI I would need a good meal at work when I couldn't break away from the lab. I've never used them so lets hope they work. She was astonished when he opened up the first one to reveal two steaks and the second one full of salad.

"Eric did you seriously cook this?" Calleigh asked.

He grinned. "It didn't take much. I just pulled them out of the fridge when I got home put some seasonings on them and tossed them on the grill," he said as though it was nothing. When they had finished eating he stood up. He took off his shirt and ran towards the water. She followed him but instead of diving in head first she took her time getting herself used to the temperature.

"Come on Calleigh just dunk yourself in and get it over with!" he said, causing her to laugh. When she was about waist deep he dove under the water, sneaking up behind her pushing her the rest of the way down. When he came up he was laughing hysterically.

"ERIC!" she screamed and he wrapped his arms around her waist picking her up and spinning around in circles. By this point she too was laughing. What happened next is a little fuzzy for them both. All they know is their lips came crashing together. Somehow they managed to get back to the blanket lips parting only to breathe. The wind picked up as well as the tide and the found their festivities cut short when it started to rain. They packed up quickly and ran for the car.

Calleigh realized that they were not heading towards her house but they were pulling up to Eric's place. They ran from the car to the apartment building. Calleigh couldn't suppress a giggle when Eric couldn't find his keys. When he finally did, he unlocked the door and let them in.

"Okay I am going to go get changed out of this freezing bathing suit," Calleigh said, reaching into her bag only to find her spare clothes soaked.

"Here you know what? I'll toss these in the dryer and you can just wear something of mine," Eric said, taking he wet clothes from her hands and excusing himself down the hall. He returned a few minutes later dressed in a t-shirt and sweat pants and handed her the same. When she came out of the bathroom he was in the kitchen washing up the picnic dishes. Eric turned when he heard Calleigh come into the room. He couldn't help but stare. There she was standing in his kitchen in his pajamas hair up in a messy ponytail. She was beautiful. He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her deeply. He didn't mean to say it so soon afraid she would say he was rushing things but he couldn't help it

" I love you Calleigh," he whispered staring into her green eyes. She smiled the biggest smile he had ever seen and leaned in so close he could feel her breath on his lips.

"I love you too Eric." Their lips touched in the most passionate kiss either one could ever imagine. The started tumbling towards the bedroom and Eric mumbled something into her neck as he made a trail of kisses along her collarbone.

"Wh..what did... yo...you say?" Calleigh said, having issues talking when her heart was beating so fast.

"I said I should never have bothered giving you these clothes," he responded, trying to get the t shirt over her head.

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**A/N Sorry about this chapter taking so long I'm really busy with Annabelle. Let me know what you think.**

**Thank you to xXThePostXx for the beta on this chapter.**


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